I'll Always Be There
by EricIsHot123
Summary: Something horrible happens to Annie. Will Eric make it to the scene on time to help her?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here's my newest story, I'll Always Be There. It'll probably be all Eric's POV but I may have different POV's later on. This is only my 2nd FanFic so be nice. Please R&R! Thnx!

I awakened Monday morning to see the sun starting to shine through the windows. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and turned my head to my beautiful goddess, Annie. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. She was rolled over onto her side facing me. She was still hard asleep, but I couldn't blame her. We were up half of the night talking about what we should do about Simon.

Simon, our 4th child, had gotten himself into some trouble lately with the law. Even though he was only 14, he was starting to become rebellious. And we knew that at least the next four years were going to be very rough. Sunday afternoon, Simon had gone out with some of his new friends, new friends that Annie nor I approved of. But that didn't stop Simon. He had gone out and robbed a guy's house not too far from where we live. Annie and I never saw that coming. We thought we raised our children better than that, but I guess we were wrong. At least, with one of them anyway.

Annie started shuffling around, and that's how I knew she was awake.

"Hello, my beautiful angel," I told her as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Hi," She replied.

"So did you have a good sleep?" I asked her, sliding over to her and pulling her close to me.

"Mmm-hm," She replied, nuzzling my neck.

"That's good. So what are we going to do about Simon?" I asked her, moving her head to mine. We kissed for a few wonderful moments, then she rested her head on my chest.

"I honestly don't know, honey. He's gone too far this time. I have no idea how to punish him for this. He's already going to be spending two weeks in jail. What can we do?" She asked me. And honestly, I had no idea what to do with our son either.

"Nothing, I guess. But he's only 14. He shouldn't be spending more than a day in jail. But I guess he does need the extra time. He knows the difference between right and wrong, but he did it anyway," I replied.

"You're exactly right. We can't do anything. They aren't going to drop the charges, even if he is only 14. I see where you're coming from, but there is nothing, nothing at all we can do," She said.

I pulled her in for another kiss. "Mmm. I love you," I whispered against her lips.

"I can't tell you how much I love you," Annie replied.

"You can show me," I said suggestively, giving her a seductive smile.

"Later. We have to get up and get the kids ready for school," She replied, disappointing me greatly.

But she was right. It was Monday, and if we didn't get up when we did, the kids would probably have been late. We each showered, got dressed, then went downstairs and got some coffee. Annie called the kids down for breakfast (we were having those delicious pancakes of hers). As I ate my breakfast, I scanned through the sports section of the newspaper and eventually the kids one by one made it down the stairs. But thankfully they finished their pancakes quickly.

"Hurry up, or you're going to be late," Annie told them as she handed each of them their lunches on their way out the door. She kissed me goodbye and walked out to the car to drive the kids to school.

After I had finished my breakfast, I washed all of the dishes. And by the time I had finished that, Annie had come home.

"Oh, Eric, you didn't have to clean up," Annie said as soon as she saw the clean kitchen.

"I know, but I wanted to take some of the work load off your shoulders," I told her.

"Aww, you're the best husband ever," She said, kissing me before heading upstairs.

I went to my office to get my things together for work. I went out to my car and put my briefcase, laptop, and Bible into the passenger seat. I then went back inside and up the stairs to say good-bye to Annie.

She was making the bed when I walked into our room. "Honey, I'm leaving for work now," I told her.

"Oh, alright. Drive carefully," She replied, giving me a peck on the cheek. "I will," I told her as I walked back downstairs and out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am so sorry for the almost 2-month long wait. I was busy with schoolwork. But now that the summer is here, I should have more time to update. I will be updating my other story, The Beginning of a Wonderful Life, by Monday so keep checking back since I do not know exactly when I can update.

Thanks everyone! Please R&R!

I came home to the delightful aroma of baked chicken. I found Lucy, Mary, and Ruthie setting the table.

"Hi, honey," I said to Annie, kissing her on the cheek. "How was your day?" She asked me. "It was okay," I replied wearily. I helped her carry the food to the table in the dining room. And after Lucy said grace, we all dug into Annie's delicious dinner. I was starving since I hadn't eaten lunch.

After dinner, Annie and I of course got stuck doing the dishes while the kids went off and watched TV, finished up their homework, talked on the phone, or whatever it is that they do. "Hey, honey, have you thought of a punishment for Simon yet?" Annie asked me. Oh sure, _I'm_ the one that makes up the punishments for everything.

"No, I haven't. I don't know what we can do at the moment. At least we have two weeks to think about it while he's gone," I replied.

"We could take away his allowance, and tell him no phone, no friends over, no TV at all for....how long?" She replied. I was taken aback by that. It honestly sounded kinda harsh to me, and I thought I was the strict one. But I knew that she wouldn't let him off the hook so easily, so I just gave in.

"Mmm, maybe a month or so. How does that sound?" I said.

"A month sounds good, maybe or week or two longer," She said. What is she trying to do, kill the kid?

I don't even know how Annie and I switched roles here, but I was kind of feeling sorry for Simon. Of course what he did was wrong, and yes he should and will receive a punishment from us, but more than a month sounded like too much.

"Since when were you the bad guy when it comes to punishing our kids?" I had to know.

"I'm not. Well, maybe in this situation I am, but Simon needs a harsh punishment. He robbed a house, Eric! And you're just going to give him some slack by grounding him for what, a week or two?" This is not good. Why is she angry at _me_? It's not like I robbed a house or anything.

"Why are you throwing this back in my face? I don't care how long you ground Simon. Ground him for year, see if I care," I replied, my anger building up in me. This is crazy. Why are we fighting over this? I needed some time to cool down. I finished drying the plate I was holding. Then I said, "I need some time to calm down. I'm going for a walk, I'll be back shortly."

"Fine, but I'm not finishing the dishes," She replied. She put down the bowl she had in her hand and walked out of the room. I sighed as I made my way to the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry once again for the wait. I kind of have writers block on my other story, The Beginning of a Wonderful Life, so it may be on hold as of now. I will keep going with this story though, so please keep reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of 7th Heaven, all the characters belong to creator Brenda Hampton.

As I walked outside into the night, the cool October breeze blew against my face, sending a chill up my spine. I wasn't planning on going far. I just needed to cool my temper down before I faced Annie again, because if I hadn't, it might have caused some real trouble.

I started down the driveway and into the street, trying to clear my head. As I got further down the road, I heard a car coming from the distance, and when it passed me, the passenger stuck his head out and yelled some disrespectful curse words at me. I guess Simon's next move is going to be joining some group of gangsters like those. What am I going to do with this kid?

I took a deep breath. I had been walking for about 5-10 minutes. I was getting kind of lightheaded, so I decided to head back to the house, and prayed that it wasn't a sign that I was about to have another heart attack.

A few seconds later I heard an awfully familiar scream. It sounded like a woman was yelling someone's name. My name.

I realized it was Annie. I began to walk faster, and when she screamed again, I broke into a jog.

"Annie!" I yelled as loud as possible as I tried to make it to the house in time. This time her scream was hard to understand. I could tell she hadn't said my name, but I couldn't tell exactly what she had said. I prayed she was alright, and if she wasn't then my blood pressure would be off the charts because I would have been boiling with anger.

I broke into the fastest sprint of my life, and when our house (finally) came into view, I saw a black SUV with tinted windows parked out front. Two guys all dressed in black were carrying Annie down the driveway to their car. I slowed down, not wanting the men to see me in case they were armed.

As I creeped around the car, the look on Annie's face showed crystal clear that she was terrified out of her mind.

I wanted her to see me, to let her know I was there and that I was going to do everything I could to help her. I decided to make a very risky move. I ran towards the front of the house, this way the men's backs were completely facing me. As the men and Annie reached the SUV, Annie's and my eyes met for a split second. Her eyes were filled with shock and fear, and I think she mouthed the words, "help me".

I wanted to get in my car and follow them, but I knew I couldn't leave the kids at the house alone. I quickly made it to the front door and once I made it in, I shot up the stairs, frantically looking for Mary or Lucy. Mary was in the hallway, and when she saw me she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dad! Mom --" Mary started, but I cut her off.

"I know, I know. Are you and the others okay?" I asked in a hurry.

"Yeah, Dad, we're all fine," Mary replied.

"Okay, stay here, because I have got to get in my car and follow those guys before they get too far down the road. Call Sergeant Michaels and tell him what's going on. Tell him they're driving a black SUV with dark windows. I didn't pay attention to the plate number. I will be back as soon as I can, okay?"

Mary started to say something, but I was already at the front door before I could listen. I saw the SUV heading down the road, so I ran to my car and hopped in. I quickly snapped on my seat belt, and put the keys in the ignition. I kicked it into drive, and sped down the driveway and onto the street.

**Will Eric be able to stay on their tracks? Will he make it in time to save Annie?**


End file.
